Distance on GPS map doesn't match with exercise summary

[Andyn1970]

Hi all

Firstly love the Fitbit Versa does everything I need also the app is great.

BUT over the last couple of weeks the distance recorded by the app is way off. 

I use it connected to my Samsung Galaxy S9+ and its always been very accurate to a tenth of a mile or less. 

But on my last few runs of about 3.4 miles it can be a whole mile out, but just the distance the route it records is spot on but the mile points are in the wrong place for example it recorded 2.44 miles in 30.29.

My wife who also has a Versa connected to an IPhone recorded 3.43 miles in 30.30 this is correct and matches our pace of about 9.30/m

Prior to the last weeks it has always been almost exactly the same as my wife as we run together. 

I have Re started the Versa and the phone, I have cleared the data in the Fitbit app and I have also uninstalled the fitbit app. 

Same result its not always out the same, a couple of runs back it got to 2.89m on the same route. Then on Tuesday it was spot on. 

Any ideas it seems like a small thing but not having an accurate record of your work turns out to be extremely frustrating.

Anyone else had this? 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Kat_Berlin]

I can now add that even if I manually set the stride length to a much longer stride, it still is off. 1 km for a 5 km walk, that’s really not good. 
I’m very disappointed. Could you please provide a fix for this or a fix for the heart rate that doesn’t get recorded when I start the exercise on the run?

i can only have heart rate but incorrect distance or correct distance but no heart rate and no exercise overview on the watch. 
very frustrating 😞 

[DawnH1]

So since the update my fix no longer works and my run was out by over 1/2 mile. I am so annoyed I spent ages trying to get this watch to actually work and then fitbit comes along with a update and breaks it again. Honestly the ineptitude of this company to properly test updates is truly shocking. I have had enough and will be shopping around for a garmin 245.

[MarreFitbit]

Hello everyone. I totally understand where you come from. I'd like to give thanks for the feedback you've provided towards our product. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback. 

While I was reading through all your posts since my firts response here, I noticed that everyone has reported issues with GPS data on your smartwatches, but not all are the same. So, please note that, we’re aware of an issue with "Distance on GPS (connected) map not matching exercise summary" and "No GPS map in Run activity summary", we are working to identify a resolution as quickly as possible. 

If your issue is more related to the accuracy of the Versa itself, please take a look at the troubleshooting steps provided here: Why ins't GPS working on my Fitbit device? and How accurate are Fitbit devices?

Hi @Emmatee and @Seb03, thanks for the details provided in your posts. I've seen that you both have already contacted our Support Team to report the issues with the GPS. However, our team haven't heard back from you two since May 10th and May 14th. If you haven't done so yet, please take a look at your inbox and try the tips and recommendations you were sent. Feel free to reply back to your support case if you need further assistance. 

Hi @Vesper1603, welcome to the Community Forums. We apologize for the late response to the email you sent to our Support Team on May 19th. Keep in mind that we may need more than 7 business days to respond, due to recent events affecting our operations. Stay tuned of your inbox to the email address associated with this account someone will reply to you as soon as they can. 

Thanks for your understanding. I'll be here if you have any questions present. 

[RunHolmanRun]

@MarreFitbit 'as quickly as possible'

This thread was created back in October last year, 7 months is surely enough time to fix the problem, especially when the problem appears to be across many devices which use Connected GPS.

Using stride length to calculate pace and distance seems to be a very odd idea as it isn't giving users an accurate view of how they are running when they most need it most.

Why is nothing official coming out from Fitbit? 

Do you know how annoying it is to train with inaccurate data?

I felt very let down by my experience that I decided to ditch my Versa and advised my friends against buying Fitbit products in future as they don't live up to the minimum requirements of of an activity trackers.

[Andyn1970]

Thanks for the reply. 

This does seem to be taking a long while to fix, it is still exactly the same as it was in September last year. 

Oddly my wife's still works perfectly, original Versa connected to an IPhone8 both running the latest software /firmware. 

But my Versa my sons and my daughters all connected to Android all have the same issue with the GPS. 

I personally purchased 5 versa watches at the end of 2018. That adds up to a fair wad of cash, ok my mother in law doesn't care about the GPS and at the moment neither does my daughter but it should still work. 

Will fitbit offer me a refund on the watches that won't do one of their primary functions? 

I keep meaning to sell mine on ebay but I don't want someone else to buy it for it not to work.

Then I was daft enough to stay with the Fitbit system and purchased an Ionic for the built in GPS. 

So if you just want to offer me a refund on my watch I will take it. Its all boxed up waiting for your reply. 

[MP95]

My experience with the help center - has yet to make my Versa accurate. What they want is for me to use my steps/stride but I want accuracy If I walk, run or do whatever and I want it to be accurate. I have since found that even the heart rate doesn’t seem all that right either.  Fitbit needs to admit there Versa watches aren’t right and don’t use gps correctly.  They should have offered us users a refund or at least fix the problem and send us a watch that works! 

[MarreFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hello @RunHolmanRun, @Andyn1970, and @MP95. I understand where you come from. As mentioned before, we appreciate all your feedback provided towards our Versa smartwatches. Our Community provides feedback to our team based on posts like these and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback. 

Important: I'm now going to close this thread from further comments. If you're experiencing any issues with the connected GPS on your Versa smartwatches, please create a new topic with the specific issue so we can address it accordingly as many of you have reported different issues with GPS that are not related to title of this thread.